LETTER: Fall River's claims to fame go well beyond Lizzie Borden

Marc Munroe Dion’s Nov. 18 column portrayed the city of Fall River in much the same light as the city of Salem, encouraging the city, rather sarcastically, to capitalize on the bizarre series ...

The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Writer

Posted Nov. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 19, 2013 at 7:21 PM

Posted Nov. 19, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 19, 2013 at 7:21 PM

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Marc Munroe Dion’s Nov. 18 column portrayed the city of Fall River in much the same light as the city of Salem, encouraging the city, rather sarcastically, to capitalize on the bizarre series of events that occurred 121 years surrounding the Borden murders. To even insinuate something as ridiculous as this is to put blinders on and completely ignore the city’s rich cultural history and the vast number of celebrities that have had their beginnings here.

None of these celebrities have committed any murders, nor have they impacted society in any negative way. Instead these individuals have achieved national recognition through their personal accomplishments. I would suggest renaming streets after them, and not Lizzie Boulevard, as one of the negative articles suggested. I would also suggest refocusing our attention to their achievements to the point of even remodeling Fall River Heritage State Park textile museum to contain a museum honoring them with histories of their journey to success.

Just imagine walking into the Joe Raposo room at Heritage Stage Park and being surrounded by the wonderful music that he has created. He wrote all of the original songs for Sesame Street. Song such as “Sing,” which reached the top of the charts when it was recorded by The Carpenters. That song was also recorded by Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and The Pips, and Patti Labelle. What about “It Ain’t Easy Being Green,” which was recorded by Frank Sinatra.

And what about George Stephanopoulos, a nationally recognized television journalist? He was the communications director for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. He is now the chief political correspondent for ABC. How about naming a street after him?

And what about Mortin Dean? He was a well respected ABC anchorman for “Good Morning America” and is the recipient of an Emmy for his work.

And what about Cardinal Humberto Medeiros? He called Fall River his home and rose to prominence from a humble priest to the cardinal of one of the country’s largest dioceses.

And there are many more such as Emeril Lagasse, E.J. Dionne, Margery Eagan, and Tommy Sewell. And what about actors such as Dean Diogo, Joe Duquette (Beverly Hills Cop II) and Mike Breidegam? And let’s not forget Danny and Sheila Gittelman. They helped launch Whitney Houston’s career. Whitney spent a number of months in Fall River working with the Gittelmans.